


those three words

by michaelscofields



Series: X & Y [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Mutual Pining, Old Friends, Past Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2020-08-11 16:22:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20156515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/michaelscofields/pseuds/michaelscofields
Summary: ❝I used to tell myself that what happened wasn't my fault, I guess lying to myself helped me to get through the day.❞《 stranger things season 1 》< steve harrington x oc >





	1. CH 0

**Author's Note:**

> Cast  
Olivia Holt as Vera Newby  
· 'edge of seventeen' - stevie nicks  
Luke Pasqualino as 009  
· 'silhouette' - aquilo  
Joe Keery as Steve Harrigton  
· 'cast no shadow' - oasis  
Olivia Cooke as Lucy Jenkins  
Nico Mirallegro as Jerome Evans  
Sean Astin as Bob Newby  
Mckenna Grace as 012  
the rest of the ST cast as their respective characters
> 
> Playlist  
X&Y - coldplay  
side A ··· under pressure - queen ; demons - imagine dragons ; it's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine) - r.e.m. ; someone to stay - vancouver sleep clinic ; don't stop believin' - journey ; youth - daughter ; the gambler - kenny rogers ; angel by the wings - sia ; shelter - birdy
> 
> Warnings:  
This story will contain cursing, homophobia and violence, among others.
> 
> A/N:  
·First of all, i apologize in advance for any grammatical errors you may find while reading this fic. i wrote it in english even though it isn't my first language so yeah.  
·This is a slow-burn story, like really slow. Mostly because i wanted to make a development but also because this is my characters' story. it's about them and how they end up in such situations.  
·There will also be slight changes in the storyline that won't affect the original plot but will help me include my characters in the stranger things world.  
·And that's it! Hope y'all enjoy the reading.

**SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6 —**

_PT1_

**It was a cold Sunday afternoon,**one of those in which people would rather stay at home, sitting by the fireplace playing dominoes, or going to the cinema to watch the latest movie that came out, only to fall asleep before the play hit its best part. But after being stuck all the morning in the library with her friend, helping each other with their respective homework, all she wanted was fresh air.

She sat by the nearest bench and dropped her bag down the floor. She heard her stomach roar again. She hadn't eaten anything except an apple in the morning and it was hitting her just now. She took a mental note: stop for food next. She closed her eyes and waited for her friend to come back.

She knew Lucy was trying, but that couldn't stop her from feeling a bit of disappointment when minutes later Vera saw her sitting by her side with a packet of cigarettes in her hands. Her friend noticed the expression faster than she managed to hide. "I know, I know. It's just- just in case."

"I get it," Vera nodded once and placed a hand on her shoulder as a sign of understanding. Lucy reconsidered smoking again and that meant things at home weren't as great as she pretended them to be. Vera could get an idea of what it was. "You're just lucky your sister isn't around right now, she would have kicked your ass."

Lucy smiled, hiding the cigarettes deep inside her backpack. "I'm not sure that's so lucky for me."

Vera gave Lucy a look that she knew it translated as _talk to me_. She waited for her to say something about it. Vera was aware of the consequences of taking such risk, and the possible impact of it. She still remembered the day Lucy talked to her mother about it, the way she reacted and how it took her months to understand it. The woman never spoke about it, never brought it up. But what was there to understand?

"I just thought about it better and there's no way I can tell my dad without ruining my life."

Vera denied with her head. "You don't deserve this, none of it."

Lucy sighed. "No one does." She said as she rested her head on Vera's shoulder. They stayed still for a minute until another and louder roar screamed inside Vera's stomach. "That's the longest one so far." She said, opening an eye to find Lucy laughing. Both of them raised on her feet, Vera touching her belly. "To Melvald's?"

-

The bells rang when the door touched them as they entered. They were greeted with a hello from Joyce Byers behind the cash register, and they smiled back in return.

"Doritos for me, please." Vera said as Lucy went straight to the junk food aisle. "I'll go get the drinks." She finished, to which Lucy replied with a thumbs up.

The store wasn't as big as Bradley's Big Guy, but as she grew up, Vera got used to the variety Melvald's offered. She picked the drinks, coke for Lucy, water for her.

"I want my money back. I don't want it anymore. Not like this!" Someone yelled on the other side of the aisle.

"You will, babe. You will or else," Another one said. They sounded familiar.

"Man, you can tell it's ripped off. They ain't dumb. It doesn't even look like an accident." Vera recognized that voice right away. Of course she did. _Dickhead_, she thought.

"I don't care?" The female voice stated, her steps echoing as she left the aisle behind.

Vera met Lucy at the candies section, and found out her friend had heard the first part of the conversation. Apparently Tommy H and Steve Harrington were there with Carol to somehow scam the store with some costume she got for Halloween. And as Vera and her friend had thought, Carol was making a scene.

"I want my money back. I didn't do anything. It was like this since I bought it so I want my money back."

"What was your name again?" Joyce touched her temple. 

"Carol." She said between teeth.

"Okay, Carol." Joyce put her hands on the counter. "You know, I'm a mother of two young boys. I know how to sew since I was twenty, and I know when clothes have manufacturing defects and when they have been ripped off. So, you can stay here and complain all you want until Donald comes back and he tells you you're not getting anything, or you can save me, your friends and those girls waiting there the time and go now like nothing happened." Joyce Byers finished with a smile, letting out a heavy breath.

Carol's mouth dropped open.

"You can't talk to her like that. Can she?" Tommy H. asked Steve for backup.

"Of course she can, you idiot. She's an adult." He turned his head to whisper. "Sorry Mrs Byers, we're just going." He faked a charming smile, but Vera knew Steve was embarrassed.

"Hilarious." Vera murmured loud enough for them to hear.

The place went silent for a moment. Carol looked at them with disgust, saying something they couldn't hear as she left the store. Tommy looked at Lucy with an angry face, took his girlfriend's dress with him like it was one of his many failed exams and followed Carol out.

Steve glanced at Vera, and she locked eyes with him. There was tease in his eyes, and what she thought (or wanted to think) was hate. Her eyes were simply distant and cold. It was hard to believe he hadn't always been like this, hard to believe they were friends once, best friends if she dared to recognize. And even harder to believe that, after all, they were each other's first kiss. 

_PT2_

**His heartbeat** was the only thing he could hear, along with the thoughts of the little girl that was sitting in the grass right by his side. There was no tremor breaking down their feet now, no alarm sistem pounding on their heads, no people rushing around as red lights flashed upon their heads. It was just the two of them, leaning against an old shed, trying to catch their breaths. He needed to choose what move was next. Running was not an option anymore. They were tired and he didn't know where to go. He knew where they were though, Hawkins, Indiana. But he had never crossed the complex fence before. How would he know where to go? Hiding seemed to be the best option at the moment. Hiding until he knew how to leave this town behind, for good this time. 

"Feel better?" With concern on his voice, he looked down the child, his hand softly caressing her hair. She nodded, trying to hide the fear that was eating her up. It didn't work, he knew she was more scared than ever. As he got up, the girl imitated him and they both turned to look over the dirty window of the shed. Through the plain curtains they were able to see some chairs and an empty table. "Maybe we can stay tonight." He looked at her, pointing at the window. "Just for the nig-"

"What the hell are you doing?" Someone exclamed behind their backs as they took off the backpack they were carrying and stepped forward. The olive-skinned boy turned around, pushing the kid behind him. Both of them tensed up, ready to run into the woods again. He didn't want any more trouble, they had had enough for the night.

"Wow, hey. It's okay. I'm not gonna do anything to you, buddy." The teenager put his hands up to show his intentions. "I just- Well, I just got home and two people I've never seen in my life are standing in my backyard looking for something in my shed in some kind of hospital clothes..." Their clothes were not from Hawkins Hospital, he knew that. He looked closer. The child was wearing a couple of dirty socks as footwear and the older boy's hands were covered with scratches. "Are you in trouble or something? Is, uh, she okay?" None of them answered, but the girl glanced at his baseball cap and he caught her frowning. "This, huh? I know, wearing a cap with your name sounds dumb, but they make us wear it at work."

_Jerome_. That was his name. The olive-skinned boy looked away for a moment, his eyes looking down the ink bellow his left wrist. He looked back at Jerome. He didn't seem dangerous, apparently. But there was only one way to know for sure. He moved a little closer and staring at him in the eyes, he focused all his attention on him. An awkward silence filled the place. And then he started to slightly shake as a trickle of blood dripped out of his nose, and everything around them was reduced on his mind to just one thing, Jerome's thoughts.

The little girl didn't seem impressed but the teenager's eyes widened. "Shit. You're bleeding, your nose..." He went to pick his backpack and rummaged into it, hoping to find any tissues. Sundays were always busy days at the bowling alley. People, young adults mostly, chose the last day of the week to come and play some rounds before ending the day at the cinema. He kind of liked it, seeing Hawkins active and not dead for a change. The town's lack of action bored him to death, but he definitely didn't expect to encounter something like this, even less in his house in the middle of the night. "Here. These crumpled napkins are all I got."

The boy used the back of his hand instead, not taking what he offered. He went back to the child's side and took her hand this time. Jerome sighed, his own hand falling back down. "Listen, I'm willing to help you if you need anything, especially her." He pointed at the kid with his chin. "I've been in trouble before, I know what it's like. But you need to stop being a jackass, okay? I don't think a lot of people would help a guy who broke into their property, especially in these clothes. You're lucky no one here has called the police, my neighborhood is not the warmest place on earth." He threw the napkins back inside his bag and waited to see if the other responded. Nothing. "Look, I'm not gonna let the child freeze out here."

The older boy studied the situation. There was nothing to worry about with Jerome, he was sure of that. He wasn't one of the bad guys. In fact, he probably wasn't even aware of what happened back in the place they escaped from just a few hours ago, as well as the rest of the world outside those walls. He looked at the little girl one more time. What else could he do? He didn't have much of a choice. They were going to use his shed anyway. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea. Staying for the night, a couple of them if she needed so. He sighed. The less he could give the boy was his name, sadly it wasn't going to be the real one. Not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't remember. "I'm Nine."


	2. CH 1

**MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 —**

It always started in the exact same place, she kind of got used to it at some point. She only knew it wasn't real when she woke up, never before. But this time was different, she could feel it. The corridors weren't endless, white, empty spaces anymore. It was all an utter chaos. She found herself running, pushing people to make her way to the emergency stairways. She pushed the door and looked up. She wanted to go upstairs, to sprint until she found a way out. But her body did otherwise and went downstairs. In that moment she knew she was no longer in control, she was pretty much a puppet. She opened the door and her head began to hurt. She was apparently screaming a name, but she didn't hear anything. She suddenly stopped in front of a door and opened it. Nothing. She turned around and saw a kid being taken by a man with a mask. She looked around the room and picked a table lamp. She felt her mouth moving and both the kid and the man looked back. She crashed the table lamp against the man's head and took the child's hand. Both of them rushed towards the emergency stairways again, lights flickering as they got near to where the elevator was. It drove her attention away when she didn't see anyone inside. She opened the door to the emergency stairs and pushed the kid, who ran straight upstairs. She chose to stay there. She was back in. She didn't know what to expect though, there was nothing in there. She faced the door and her eyes caught something behind her reflection. She froze and before she could do anything else, the thing opened its mouth and made a monstuous noise, its breath reaching the back of her neck.

She woke up sweating and sobbing. A chill ran through the back of her neck and she scratched it harshly, closing her eyes. But closing her eyes wasn't a good idea, the strange figure appeared in her mind. This nightmare was definitely something else. She looked through the window, it had already dawned but her alarm clock hadn't gone off. She heard quick footsteps approaching.

"Vera," Bob Newby stormed into her room with a cup on his hand, his work shirt covered in coffee. "Sweetheart, are you okay?" No matter how many times it happened, he always reacted as worried as the first time.

Vera looked defeated. She gestured for Bob to come to sit on her bed and threw herself in his arms. She didn't say anything for around five minutes, she just cried, not sure if it was out of fear or sadness. "I'm sorry, dad. I didn't mean to scare you." She said, pointing at the coffee stain on his shirt.

"It's nothing. You know I would probably had dropped it anyway." He laughed, glancing at the now empty cup, and she smiled. He broke the hug but didn't let go of her hand. "What was it this time?" Always the same question, always a different answer. 

She took a deep breath. She thought twice what to say, something was telling her to skip the last part. "I was in this building again, but something had happened. Not like before, it was different. I was running and I took a child with me. Someone was chasing us and then woke up." She rubbed her eyes, stopping the tears from falling.

Bob was used to it. He knew Vera had a hard time and never asked for more details. He didn't need to, he made sure Vera knew he was ready to hear whatever she needed to tell him. Besides that, little could he do. "Well, it's over now, okay? You're right here. You're home, safe." He pulled her again for a hug.

She was tired of this. She had been having nightmares for years. They weren't a product of any show or book she had watched or read, and they weren't frequent but they sure kicked hard. She believed though they were somehow connected to each other, but they didn't mean anything specific to her, if they did mean something at all.

He stood up, pulling away for the second time. "If you don't feel too well, you can stay home. I can stay with you if you need-"

"I'm fine. It's just Monday."

"Not any Monday, Vera." He went to the door, and turned around to say "Gonna make some coffee." and he left to the kitchen.

_You picked the wrong child back in the day, dad._ Vera sighed, closing the door behind him.

******

Jerome picked up the telephone, leaning against the kitchen counter as he dialed Benny's Burguers' number. Nine had barely exchanged seven words with him since he let him and the kid stay last night. After they took a shower and Jerome gave them some of his old clothes, they went straight to the guest room. Jerome sighed, glancing at the pancakes he had prepared, and hoped it was enough for the little girl to fill her belly and for Nine to talk to him with something that weren't monosyllables. 

"Good morning. Who's this?" The voice raised up in seconds.

"Benny, hey! It's Jerome. Good morning to you too." He could hear a song playing on the radio.

Benny laughed. "That tone in your voice, what's the excuse this Monday for being late? Too much work yesterday?"

"You say it like it usually happens. I'm hurt. But yeah, it's the busiest day of the weekend and I-" Jerome looked at the breakfast he just made, and did what he hated most, lie. "I was just so tired that fell asleep as soon as I put a foot in home. And woke up just now so..."

Meanwhile, with his back against the bed headboard and a little blond head leaning on his chest, Nine was close to finish reading the child a comic Jerome had given them. But he wasn't paying attention to the comic story, his mind was immersed on his own story. The night had passed and he still had no idea where to go exactly. He didn't have any money or food, or own clothes to begin with. They didn't even have a place to go to.

Nor in a billion years Nine could have imagined he would be on the outside, out of the raw walls of the labs. What he didn't know was that being mentally free would take more than a break out. Dr. Johnston had helped him recover the memories they took away from him, and for that alone he had been exposing himself to get killed. Yet, Nine was far from fully remember how his life was before the experiments.

Jerome's unintelligible voice increased inside his head, dismissing his own thoughts. Why did people think so loud sometimes? Nine sighed, closing the comic book. He softly pushed the girl aside and stood up to open the door. Silence was all they could hear. He frowned, turning to the girl. "Be right back, okay? Stay here." He adressed her, stepping out of the guest room. He passed by Jerome's room, no sign of the teenager there. He marched downstairs. The large living room was empty as well and then he heard Jerome's voice coming from the kitchen. Nine's mind went wild with the thought of someone else being on the house and he soon found himself running towards the kitchen. Jerome was alone, talking on the telephone.

"No, no, no, no. No phones." A confused Jerome turned around when he heard Nine shout, Benny Hammond saying something they couldn't hear on the other side of the line. "Hang up. Now." Nine, who was now entering the room, demanded in a gasp.

"Nin–" Freaking out, Nine took the phone off Jerome's hands and hung up for him by crashing the object against the counter Jerome was leaning against. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I said no phones."

-

The little blonde-headed did as she was told and waited for her friend to come back. She was too young to notice but she had developed a slight dependence on him. Nine was the first and only person she had met that was like her. He was caring and kind to her like no one ever had been, and he made her feel safe. She took a red pen from the nightstand and looked at the 012 that rested permanently in her skin. She drove the pen to her wrist and doodled small messy flowers around the number. 

She was in the middle of a fourth flower when a loud bang startled her and made her drop the pen violently. She got up fastly, anguish and tension growing inside her. Every unusual noise she had heard before meant danger and Nine hadn't come back yet. She picked the pen again and held it against her chest. With the biggest silence a kid could manage, she left the guest room and ran to the stairs. She walked downstairs and stopped herself, bending down as her eyes saw Jerome crossing the hallway.

"Okay, you listen to me." Jerome walked into the living room, too upset to notice that she was hiding behind the handrail. "You need to tell me what is going on right now. I deserve to know why in hell you threw my damn telephone into the sink!" He grabbed one of the chairs of the dinning table and sat in front of the beige couch, facing Nine. "I tried to give you and the child some space, time for you to analize your situation and time for her to process whatever you've been through. But this is it. If you want my help, we need to have a proper conversation."

Nine looked at him with skepticism. His head was starting to hurt for some reason and his own thoughts were flying all over his head, almost shutting down the whispers. "To that person. You said something about us?"

"No, man." Jerome sighed. "It was my boss, I was telling him I was gonna be late for work. I told you I've been in trouble too." He glanced through the window. "I swear I have seen the clothes you were wearing somewhere before. Have you guys escaped from some kind of mental institution? Because if you have, I'd like to know."

Nine wondered the results that his next answer could have. He could just tell him the truth, skipping some parts, of course. But that could put Jerome in danger and Nine was tired of getting people hurt, people who didn't deserve to get hurt at least. He could also lie and make up some simple excuse to get through the day and leave the next morning. He had multiples choices, but either way they were going to suffer the consequences.

"The labs." Someone broke the silence behind the boys. "Bad men." Nine turned his head towards the stairs and saw the little girl stepping in the living room.

The decision had been taken, and there was no going back.

-

"I knew it!" Jerome banged his fists on the void coffee table, making the child almost drop her glass of water. "I knew something was happening here in Hawkins, but definitely not something this sick. I mean, experimenting with kids to use them as militar weapons? I believed the town was evading taxes, taking money out of the public funds, something like that. Jesus." He gnashed his teeth. "Do you think the police knows about this?"

Nine shrugged and glanced down the child who was sitting on the floor, quietly looking at them. "Don't know. Maybe."

Jerome scoffed. "Probably they knew and took benefit from it. Wouldn't be the first time Hawkins has corrupt cops. And wouldn't be the last either." He looked at Twelve. Jerome couldn't help but wonder how did they meet. "So, you and the kid... How long had you been forced to do it?"

"Years by ourselves, months together. Don't remember well."

"What about the experiments. Did any of them actually give those men the results they were looking for?"

Nine didn't hesitate to shake his head instantly. His eyes went back to the Twelve and his jawline tensed. She stayed in silence and, looking at Jerome, shook her head to confirm it. Then Nine scratched his right nostril, stopping a sudden blood trickle from falling.

"That's good, that's good." Jerome nodded firmly, sending her a warm smile. "You said a doctor was helping you back there," he focused his attention back on Nine, "do you have any idea where they can be now? Can we contact them someway?"

"Don't think so. We were locked when it happened." He used his head to point at Twelve. "I escaped, took her, came here. Don't know where he is. Don't know how to contact."

"Do you trust him? I mean, if we find him, can you trust him to get you both proper help? If we find him, maybe you have a bigger chance to sidetrack your bad men?" Jerome asked, looking for any possible source of help.

Nine doubted, but nodded in the end.

"That's good. Now we just need to find a way to get to him." Jerome stated, satisfied. It wasn't like they had everything solved, but it was a start. He looked at the time, "Shit. Okay, I really need to go now. My uncle, who also happens to be my boss three days a week, is gonna kill me if I'm not at work in four seconds." Twelve frowned, confused. "It's a joke. Not that I need to go, that part is true." He turned on the tv and smiled at her, then addressed Nine as he took his backpack. "I'll be back tonight. We'll start planning something when I get home. In the meantime, get her to eat what I made for breakfast. There's more food and soda in the fridge just in case you need anything else."

"Thank you." Nine said, and Jerome nodded back, stepping outside and leaving the two of them alone in the house.


	3. CH 2

Another day of school, another day Vera and her friend spent their recess time eating lunch under the benches of the football field. It sort of became their place. Lucy said they sat there to avoid most people and make fun of jocks, but both of them knew they just hid there so she got to smoke without being seen and therefore getting expelled. 

Lucy put her food away, took a puff off her cigarette and continued talking. Vera tried to keep track, she was sure Lucy was saying something about a power outage at her neighborhood, but she wasn't paying enough attention.

And Lucy noticed. "...So I lighted the candle again, took a petrol can and set my house on fire." 

It took Vera some seconds to register the last words and her eyes wide opened. "Your house what?"

"Oh, so you are here after all!" Lucy put down the cigarette as Vera mouthed a sorry. "You know, sometimes I wish your friend Jerome didn't graduate."

"Me too. Can't begin to imagine what will be of you when I graduate." She was still playing with the sandwich Bob made for her in the morning. "But it's not that," she sighed, "I had a really bad dream last night."

"Again?"

Lucy didn't know the context of any of them. Vera decided a long time ago not to tell her every detail, or the fact that putting all of them together looked like a footage. It was something she reserved for her father. Because, after all, he was the only one who knew when and why they started. Rumours flew around Hawkins for weeks until people found out Vera was an orphan before Bob Newby had brought her to town, but no one knew the full truth except him. Not Jerome, not Lucy, not even the first friend she made in this damn place, Steve Harrington. It was something that she would rather bury deep down, there was no need to be the center of attention for two more weeks, people had already given her enough pity stares. 

"Yeah, it scared the shit out of me. It was like a horror movie, with a killer monster and stuff. I think I'm starting to dislike the horror genre." She made it sound less dramatic than it was, she didn't want to scare Lucy with another of her nightmares.

"I still think you should see a therapist, it would help. I'm sure they could tell you why you have that kind of nightmares. It's been a long time." Lucy put a hand on her shoulder. Vera didn't say anything, as Lucy already knew, so she continued, "Are you sure you're okay?"

Vera sighed. She had thought about it before, to go see someone and get actual help. Help to find an explanation to the meaning behind their content, because the reason why she had nightmares, she already knew that. "I will be," she lied again, "I just wish one morning I woke up not being able to remember what I dream at all."

"Yeah, me too."

They stayed in silence, they didn't need to say anything else. Vera unwrapped her sandwich and halved it, handing one half to Lucy. Both girls knew they were there for each other, and that was all that mattered. 

Their attention was driven off minutes later, for different reasons respectively. Lucy's because certain someone was coming directly to their spot, her cheeks turning red as they came closer; Vera's because her eyes caught a police vehicle driving uphill towards Hawkins Middle School. She couldn't see who the driver was but she recognized the license plate.

Vera frowned and didn't take her eyes off the car until she lost sight of it. "What the hell is the Chief of Police doing here?" She turned when she didn't get any respond from Lucy and found what she was paying attention to instead.

"Hey..!" Nancy Wheeler stopped by their side, awkwardly waving. "Steve Harrington told me I would find you guys here."

"What?" That took Vera off guard. She'd never expected anyone to approach them here, even less that Steve would care enough to know where they spent their time at. It reminded her of years ago when her puppy died and she wouldn't meet him on recess for days because she was hiding behind an old tree to cry and at some point she would find paper notes signed with _S.H_ where he asked her on a scale from 1 to 10 how sad she was that particular day. Vera threw the thought away.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Am I interrupting something?" Nancy said with concern.

"No!" Lucy replied fast. Vera glanced at her, the red of her cheeks had turned into a light pink but it was still there. And as if something just clicked on her mind, Vera knew who was the girl her friend had a crush on. "I mean, you're not interrupting anything."

Nancy smiled to that. "It will only take a minute. Mr. Franklin gave me copies of his notes for tomorrow's class and told me to hand them to everyone so..." She took some photocopies out of her bag and leaned to Lucy. "Here are yours."

"Me?" Lucy looked at Vera then at Nancy again.

Vera just contemplated the scene in silence, looking back from time to time to where the police had headed. She wondered what had brought them to the Middle School building, if they ever were forced to come here it was because of some fight that took place in the High School building.

"Nancy! I've been looking for you for ten minutes." A voice Vera knew too well distracted her. It felt like the universe didn't want her to give the police situation any of her attention. Steve Harrington looked at her for a brief second, "Morning, ladies."

"Steve," Nancy looked confused, she was not expecting him to be there. "I was just giving Lucy Jenkins something for History class. I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled at her again before looking back at Steve.

"See you then. And, Nancy, thanks for the notes." Lucy greeted back.

"It was nice seeing you too." Nancy addressed Vera now, to her surprise.

She frowned, forcing half a smile. "Right back at you."

"Shall we?" Steve smiled, gesturing across the field, where Tommy H. and Carol were waiting for them. They began to walk as Nancy said something about going with her friend Barbara instead, which got Steve rolling his eyes. She kissed his cheek before heading towards the cafeteria.

"So," Vera waited until she and Lucy were alone again to break the silence, "Nancy Wheeler, huh?"

**

The Evans' living room smelled like incense and lavender. It was a nice smell, very different from the lemon smell of their old bed sheets. Jerome had turned on the television before he went to work. His blond little friend had fallen asleep again as soon as she finished her breakfast and now was leaning on the other side of the couch, cuddling a purple pillow Jerome had given her last night. Nine was still looking at the television, not watching anything in particular, just glancing at the screen and all the colors that emanated from it. He never saw a television back in the labs, the only screens he saw in the building that had been his home for years were cameras that recorded every step they took, everything they did, everything _he_ did.

_— "Nine, the man sitting in front of you is Jacob Stewart. He's one of our newest men. You may have seen him before in some of your previous sessions. He has volunteered to help you." Martin Brenner motioned and a boy in grey clothes stepped into the room with some papers and a pencil to put down the table."We did such a good job until now, Nine. On phase one, you learnt to reduce the voices in your head to just mere whispers, and also to interpret said voices. And today, if everything turns out well, we will officially close up phase two. So don't try to do anything stupid as you did last time, son." Dr. Brenner adjusted the wires that were placed around Nine's head to monitor his brain activity. "Have you memorized all the sentences?" Nine slowly nodded, looking straight at the volunteer. Dr. Brenner then headed to the door with a successful smile on his face. "Perfect, let the test begin."_

_Jacob Stewart felt the weight of the world over his shoulders. Subject number nine was one of the most difficult to read. When he volunteered last weekend, he had thought it would be a good chance to make himself visible to his boss, to stop being more than a simple rookie. But now he wasn't so sure he made a good choice._

_Nine focused all his faculties. Some people were harder to control than others. And he was about to discover that Jacob Stewart was part of the easy ones. He could hear how excited yet scared the scientist was, just like he saw the fear in the eyes of the last person that had volunteered to 'help' ._

_Dr. Brenner and the rest of his closest team watched with curious eyes through the tinted window from the observation room. Nine had started to work, he was shaking and his nose bled from both orifices and they knew it was taking him a really huge effort to perform the test. Jacob Stewart's eyes had no pupile now, they were all white as he quickly wrote down the papers with a messy handwritting, all of them with the same message. When he finished, and still under Nine's compelling, the scientist threw the pencil and turned around, pressing one of the papers tight againt the tinted window. 'I will remember'. The pain increased and Nine knew he was reaching his own limit, he needed to stop. With a last effort, he took the monitor cables off his head and threw himself against the chair, closing his eyes at the same time the volunteer scientist fell unconscious to the ground. _ _The experiment was over._

_Martin Brenner sighed from the other side of the room, looking at Nine with an inscrutable face. Where he used to see a boy that could do so much, a potential pupil, now he only saw another experiment subject, another of his many weapons. "Lock him up." He watched the paramedics taking over and aggressively lifting Nine up, who was too exhausted to fight back. "And help that poor young man, for the love of God." He adressed pointing at Jacob Stewart as he left the observation room to go to see the next subject. —_

Nine sighed, searching for something else to distract himself. There were family pictures on top of the fireplace and landscape paintings hung on the walls. He got up, his eyes wandering from the television to a big picture placed in the middle of the fireplace. There was a little child, with a young woman and two elderly people, all of them smiling happily. It had a caption written down the photo frame, 'Family matters'. Nine's lips formed a sorrowful smile as he looked at the rest.

They same people appeared on every picture except for one. Out of curiosity, he leaned forward to take a closer look. His expression drastically changed. It was an image of two kids at a birthday party but it wasn't the boy who got his attention, it was the girl next to him. He didn't know why but it brought a lump to his throat. He frowned, blinked, his mind racing for reasons he didn't understand. He moved his shaky hand and touched the girl's face. His eyes shut and for a single second he saw that same girl running towards him. She was crying and shouting something he couldn't hear. The feeling of his hand being gripped brought him back. He saw the child crying out his name and she smiling between the tears when he called her back.

"Y-you. Scream. Cry. B-blood." She wipped away her tears with clumsy moves and tapped her temple. It was a sign for Nine to know she was thinking faster than she was able to put in words. He was confused and exhausted but kneeled down and focused his attention on her, one more drop of blood joining the ones already under his nose. Her thoughts were too many and too fast for him to catch up. _Twelve, relax. Everything is fine._ He projected his words as he squeezed her tiny hand. She breathed and explained as quick and clear as she could. _You screamed. You cried and shake. I called you and you don't respond. An-and blood... I am scared._ He could feel her fear. _Don't worry, I'm okay now. We're safe._ He took her in his arms, his gaze again fixed on the picture, on the girl doing a peace sign, her tongue out mocking the boy beside her. Who was she?


	4. CH 3

"I don't get it." Steve sighed again, making Marissa roll her eyes for the sixth time this afternoon. Vera had lost count of the amount of times the librarian had told him to shut up. "Sorry, sorry." He leaned closer to Vera, lowering his voice. "Why is sensible translated to _sensato_ but not _sensible_? It's written the exact same. And don't get me started with sensitive being the one that translates to _sensible_. I mean who came to this conclusion? How am I supposed to memorize anything?"

Vera made an effort to look up her homework. "You have to understand first. You can't just memorize and then vomit the information on the exam. Spanish is a whole different language. The world doesn't evolve around English, you know?"

"Yes, it does?" He joked.

"In your utopian world maybe, but not in the real world." Steve was now the one who rolled his eyes. "Why would you pick Spanish in the first place?" She whispered to herself, not looking for an answer.

"I needed the credits. Duh." He said like it was the most obvious thing.

"No answer needed." He just looked at her with that expression he used when he didn't know the meaning behind her words. "It was a rhetorical question."

"Jesus, Newby. You need to chill. I'm trying here, okay?" He raised his tone again. The librarian sighed but didn't take her eyes off the magazine she was reading.

Vera put her pen down, surprised by his reaction. "Trying what?" 

"To make this less awkward. I'm here because I knew you wouldn't agree to come to my house. You think I don't know you asked Mrs. Sanders if you could switch partners?" He sounded surprisingly hurt.

"So?" She tried to sound as stable as she could. This was the reason why she avoided him. Being alone with Steve triggered her feelings somehow, she knew it. That's why she tried to switch partners, but that didn't turn out well, so she met with him in a public place. It wasn't working either.

"You can't be serious." Steve laughed, a hint of bitterness on his voice. It was the first time in a long time they were sitting together, and it was by force. He looked at her, searching for anything that told him how she was really feeling, and to his surprise he found nostalgia. He could try convince himself he didn't miss her anymore all he wanted, and yet some nights, when he was all alone, alcohol running through his system, he would find himself looking through an old album he kept behind his bed filled with pictures of a younger version of them. Vera blinked once and nostalgia was gone as fast as it came, replaced by something he wasn't able to read.

"I knew _this..._" She pointed between herself and him, and Steve's first thought was dismissed when she ended pointing at their project. "...wouldn't work. I knew it."

Steve scoffed. He wondered at what point they became so distant. It felt like he didn't know her at all. And suddenly he wasn't in the mood to be there. Hell, he had a date with Nancy Wheeler in three hours and instead of being at home getting ready he was losing his time with Vera Newby. It was ridiculous. "You know what? You're right, it's a dead end. And I gotta go so let's call it a day."

Vera raised up as he was already putting his books inside his bag. "We still have a lot of work to do, are you kidding me? Let's be clear here, Harrington, I am not doing your part for you."

"I'm not asking you to do it!" He yelled, taking his jacket, not giving a damn they were going to get kicked out of the library.

Both teenagers looked at each other in the eyes, tension increasing between them.

"Screw you, Steve." He didn't respond, which made Vera angrier. "Let's just- Let's just do it separately. You do your part and I do mine, I'll put everything together when it's done and then we can go back to ignore each other's existences. Everyone happy!"

"Fine!" He screamed, heading to the library entrance.

"Fine!" She screamed louder as the doors closed after him.

The place went silent and that's when she saw everyone watching her. "What? Y'all haven't seen anyone fight before?" Vera spit out and got her things ready to leave before she was called out. 

She didn't get too far before a pair of rookie policemen entered and asked her not to go yet. "Good evening, everyone. We have an important announcement from the Hawkins Police Station. A twelve years old boy called Will Byers went missing last night. Chief Jim Hopper has ordered to set a search party for tonight and we need as many people as we can get. In an hour, those who want to come must go to the police station where Florence will tell you the details. We're asking for everyone's cooperation. Thank you."

The library exploded into a sea of gasps and whispers. Vera looked down, her shoulders feeling heavier all of sudden. She heard her heartbeat race, a hundred of images flooded her mind, making her forget about her argument with Steve, her subconscious travelling back to _that_ day. It felt like a reminder to her. And now somebody else was going to experience the same lost. 

**

Steve Harrington turned the engine off in front of his house, and with it the last thoughts of his earlier argument. He was upset, sure, but he wasn't going to let that small incident interfere with his plans or bring his mood down. He got so good at pretending everything was fine that sometimes he even believed it himself, until reality hit him and he had to collect himself then start over again. Full cycle.

Right now he could say he was happy, or at least _feeling_ happy. He was doing (almost) fine at school, hung out with his friends, went to parties every weekend, had fun with girls and now was actually seeing the one he liked. And despise all of that, he felt like something was missing. His parents' affection, for instance. He always got what he asked for, not exactly what he needed from them. It was okay though, he understood that they had their jobs and priorities and, when he entered high school, he digested he wasn't their first priority. He still loved his parents and knew they wanted the best for him, but they didn't see that, indirectly, they were putting a lot of pressure on him. They wanted a life for him he probably wouldn't end up living.

It didn't even surprise Steve when he opened the front door to a silent, dark house. He went straight to the living room, turning on every light on his way, to pick the note he knew would be left on the coffee table.

> "We're out for business. Be back this weekend. You have leftovers on the fridge. Behave. Love you." Mom & Dad

_Reality hit._ "They didn't even wait for me to have dinner. Who would have thought?" He threw the paper note into the cracking embers of the fireplace. _Collect oneself._ "Behave? Well I guess we're having a party tomorrow." He said before he headed upstairs, a relieved smile on his face as he remembered who he was meeting later.

**

"Will! Will Byers!"

"Will, we're here for you, bud!"

Repetitive screams echoing all over the woods, flashlights enlightening every step. Chief Jim Hopper's idea of getting a search party didn't turn out bad. Police Department had mustered more volunteers than they expected. A half of Hawkins was looking for Will Byers, who apparently went missing yesterday night. Some people had brought their own dogs in an attempt to help finding the child faster, but so far there was no trace of him anywhere.

"How is Will? I know his old brother, Jonathan. We share a couple of classes but we've never really talked." Lucy Jenkins was chatting with Mr. Clarke, the biology middle school teacher, as the search party went deeper into the dark woods.

"He's a really smart kid. He's shy and also reserved, but he's a good kid. A good student. Will is very curious, and so are his friends. They're the only students that are part of the AV Club. Not a popular club between kids if you remember." Mr. Clarke answered with a soft smile.

Lucy smiled back, raising her flashlight. "I bet he was. Oh God, no- I mean _is_, I bet he- he is a good kid. I know his mother, Joyce, from Melvald's. She's nice too..." She struggled, trying to find the right words. "I just- I don't know. All this just feels so wrong. Like bad things aren't supposed to happen to good people and yet tragedies happen everyday, anywhere, anytime, to anyone. But I never thought it would actually happen here..."

Mr. Clarke just nodded in agreement. "It seems unthinkable until it happens to you."

A few metters ahead them was Vera, following the Chief's tracks, wondering whether this whole thing would lead them somewhere. Jim Hopper had to know something was going on, police wouldn't set a search party for nothing. Those memories she hated to remember reappeared in her mind, clearer this time. _He_ hadn't been so lucky. No one ever set a search party for him, they just let the thing fade away. Vera knew very well Hawkins wasn't the one to blame, but it was her resentment that was about to speak for her.

"Are there any chances he's found alive?"

"Excuse me?" Hopper turned around, his flashlight pointing now at the person besides him. Bob Newby's kid.

"Will Byers. Are there any chances he's found alive? Or found at all?" Vera closed her eyes to block the intense light projected on her face.

"We're trying our best." Hopper tossed the flashlight to his left. He didn't bother to lie. He wasn't sure Will Byers was out there. He still believed Lonnie, Joyce's dumbass ex-husband, had something to do with it, as he told her in the morning. She had denied that possibility, but it wasn't enough to convince him. He was going to send someone to check on Lonnie tomorrow anyways.

Vera bit her lips. She tried to make eye contact with Hopper, but he never looked away from ahead. "That's the typical answer I expected to receive, not the one I'm looking for, actually."

Hopper stopped on his tracks and turned now to the girl, sighing heavily. "Yeah, well. Sorry to disappoint, kiddo, but that's everything you're gonna get 'cause that's all I can give you. The kid hasn't been missing enough to answer your question."

"Come on, Chief." Vera snorted, "Don't give me the ordinary police statement bullshit, I want a real answer. You've work out of this crappy town before, you have seen more things than the entire Hawkins police department."

Hopper looked at her, somehow intrigued. She seemed annoyed, possibly it had something to do with the dislike he knew she had towards cops for some reason. He could tell her his real thoughts about Will Byers and his whereabout, but it wouldn't change a thing. And he wasn't in the mood to chat. To be fair, he never was. "As I said, we'll do our best."

She looked at him right in the eyes, anger burning her inside. "You're all just a group of incompetent liars. A bunch of cowards, every single one of you. Always saying the same and walking away when shit gets tough. It shouldn't be like that. It shouldn't."

"We're not doing this today, Newby. Go home." With a tired expression on his face, Jim Hopper stepped aside and headed to his two closest colleagues, Phil Callahan and Calvin Powell. Vera's eyes watched as the three of them exchanged a couple of words and marched together, a few people starting to follow behind.

_Hope you do better than they did._


End file.
